Six Nations/Ireland's Triple Crown: Gerry Thornley elicits the impressions of three who played parts, however varied, in last week's fun.

A momentous day, and there must be thousands of people with innumerable memories of their own. Here is a cross-section of those, from the pitch, from pitchside and from the stands, namely Ireland's try-scoring hero Shane Horgan, the team's fitness coach, Mike McGurn, and Jane Flannery, mother of the Munster and Ireland hooker, who was among the 15-20,000 Irish supporters fortunate enough to have tickets.

Horgan was one of the first three players to head down for breakfast in the team's hotel, the Hilton St Anne's, in Bracknell.

"I got up quite early. I actually didn't sleep that well. So I had breakfast at about eight. The only other players up at that hour were Donncha O'Callaghan and David Humphreys. It was a bit strange really as gradually the rest of the players came down.

"There were quite a lot of nerves going around as we realised the enormousness of the task ahead of us. Winning at Twickenham is always a huge ask and then there was a Triple Crown on the line. This was by far our latest kick-off of the season, which made the day longer and added to the tension."

Jane Flannery was among a huge gathering of extended family, some of whom were staying in the Park Lane Hotel in Piccadilly.

"We even had one of Jerry's cousins, Kenneth Griffin, over from Boston. We weren't all in the same hotel so we met up in Central Hotel for breakfast.

"Tickets were scarce, so we then had to decide who was going to go to the match and who was going to watch it in a pub."

McGurn: "After midday there's always a lot of nervous energy about so we went out to the tennis courts on the hotel. The forwards did a few lineouts and the backs played a stupid game of touch and pass. I did what I call an energising game with Darce (Gordon D'Arcy). It stimulates the central nervous system and he's a big fan of it. He stands with his back to me as I throw or kick tennis balls or sponge balls at him off the ground. . . and he has to turn and react. It takes about 20 minutes and is a great way of getting eye-hand co-ordination in without fatigue.

"We always have our prematch meal three hours before kick-off and in honour of Denis Leamy we had tomato soup, which is his staple diet. We even call it Denis Leamy Soup now. I know it sounds childish but when you've been in camp for eight weeks, these are the kind of things you do.

"We also had sandwiches, chicken salad, some pasta and some fruit smoothies; our own recipe - skimmed milk, low-fat yoghurt, strawberries, bananas and blueberries. And then the old favourite, pancakes and maple syrup."

Horgan: "You don't really want a long journey but Twickenham was about 45 minutes away through London traffic and the outriders we had were useless. They didn't do anything. London outriders aren't like Dublin or Rome. In Italy they're brilliant, almost literally kicking cars out of the way and going through a few red lights. Maybe we're not categorised as highly in London. As Denis (Leamy) said, the only thing they'd help us out with is if we came across a highwayman on the way."

McGurn: "One of my abiding memories of the day is when we went out onto the pitch and saw the cranes behind one end of the ground where they're building the hotel. And Drico (Brian O'Driscoll) said: 'Ah listen, lads, it's not Lansdowne Road, is it?' It just showed you how confident and relaxed he was, and we all fell about laughing."

Jane Flannery: "I had got special green scarves from Mr Scrum, David Noble, with the name Flannery embroidered on them, and on the train journey to Twickenham they were a source of interest to all the English fans.

"I had wanted to get to the ground in time for the arrival of the players' coach, as one of our group had a video recorder, and these are the moments to capture. But we missed them by about 15 minutes. But it meant we were in our seats early."

Horgan: "I'm not one for spending a long time in the dressing-room. I remember Paul O'Connell being particularly vocal, and Eddie was vocal too, reinforcing the smaller details, as did Peter Stringer. At that late stage there's no need to get people up for the game; that's a given against England at Twickenham."

McGurn: "I always give the lads a countdown during the warm-up; 20 minutes to go, 15 minutes to go, 10 minutes to go. . . It was snappy and fast, with no dropped balls. Guys were running great lines; really switched on. We did it in 21 minutes, or exactly 20 minutes 55 seconds, to be precise.

"We always go back in with six minutes to go before kick-off. There's no point in doing a warm-up if you then cool down. All of which would make you think we'd have a good start."

Horgan: "They tapped quickly and caught us off guard a little. We weren't getting across from the open side fast enough. When it occurred again later the message came down for another man 'to keep on going', as the saying goes."

"We came back quickly. Brian has a way of kicking the ball which makes it difficult to catch or pick up off the ground. It's another of his talents that is quite impressive in the heat of the moment. I initially ran ahead and checked to prevent Ben Cohen counterattacking and I was surprised when he slipped. I went around him and managed to kick it ahead before scoring. I watched the replay on the big screen and it looked a little tight, and I picked up on the booing."

Jane Flannery: "Every time The Fields of Athenry was sung, we joined in. I have to say it was a better atmosphere among the Irish at Twickenham than it was at Lansdowne Road this season. There was a much greater spirit of togetherness. You sensed the fans were much more united."

Horgan: "Half-time was relatively calm. One thing I remember is someone saying we didn't feel exhausted. Sometimes you'd be dying at half-time, sucking it in. But as a group, there was a lot more left in us."

McGurn: "When (Steve) Borthwick went in between Mal (Malcolm O'Kelly) and Marcus (Horan) for their try I went behind the sticks. Again the words from Drico and Paulie (O'Connell) were very measured. There was no sense of panic, which might have happened in previous times."

Horgan: "Denis's try came at a really important time for us. They'd put us under pressure and scored a try, but Denis recognised that they were going over the top and anticipated it brilliantly."

Jane Flannery: "The only time I got angry was when I saw Jerry being singled out. I could only see it on the screen when the referee called Jerry and Steve Thompson aside. That was a negative emotion and then when England went ahead it seemed as if, despite playing a tremendous game, Ireland might lose."

McGurn: "We had to help Leamy off so I was on that side of the pitch when Simon (Easterby) was sinbinned. It happened a few yards from me. I saw (Matt) Dawson running into Si and I thought, 'You absolute muppet, Dawson'. The ref was conned, big style. I told Si to keep himself warm, because he was still going to have to play the last four or five minutes. 'Whatever you do, don't get on their bikes'.

"England have these exercise bikes on the sidelines to keep warm, but they're rather contradictory, because they shorten the hamstrings."

Horgan: "There was a little break before that scrum in our own 22 and it was a decision by Peter, Ronan and Brian to go for the chip. And I'm so glad they did. When Brian latched onto it my first thought was just to keep up with him, and that's not really easy for me. When I saw Lewis Moody was going to get me I slowed down a little to take the tackle. It's something Eddie always presses home to the wingers especially. I'd been tackled into touch a couple of times against Italy.

"Credit to Rog (Ronan O'Gara), he hit that ruck like a backrower. I didn't see Brian take it up the next time. We were roaring for the ball on the blindside, where they were defending quite tight. I managed to keep a little bit of width and I made eye contact with Peter. He threw an absolute peach of a pass which allowed me to get to the corner. I was pretty happy with the grounding of the ball but I was a little bit scared about where my feet were. But once I saw it on the big screen I was convinced it was a try."

McGurn: "I was running alongside Shaggy on the touchline, and I think myself and Rog were the first to hug him. I can remember telling Rog to use up the full minute with the conversion, and I had a bit of a kerfuffle with a ballboy as I kicked the ball away to waste more time. But the ref had stopped the clock."

Jane Flannery: "We were sitting right in front of where Shane Horgan scored that try. We couldn't have had a better view. But you were holding your breath until you were nearly purple before the video official finally gave that try. I've rarely known such elation as when that final whistle went. Parents were hugging each other. It was joyous, electrifying."

Horgan: "It was a great idea to have a trophy, something tangible to show for winning the Triple Crown. To see Brian collect the trophy and then have that lap of honour for the Irish fans is something I'll always remember. The main reason we play rugby is for the friendships, and you could see how delighted and together that group is."

McGurn: "When Rog came up to me and thanked me for all the help I'd given him, that brought a lump to the throat. When you've been in camp with people you regard as friends for eight weeks and then it all comes together with a performance like that, it is very special."

Jane Flannery: "I decided to take up the ticket to the post-match reception in a building they call the Spirit of Rugby. I'm not normally an autograph hunter but I made a point of getting every player to sign his photograph in the match programme. That's my cherished memento."

"There was a great sense of camaraderie amongst the parents, and I eventually headed into town on a train with some of them, before eventually finding my group in a pub in Chiswick. The day is stamped in my memory for ever. Every moment. It will never be erased. Jerry has charted this course himself. And here we were; we lived the dream we daren't dream."

Horgan: "The meal started really late and we were quite late going out. A friend of ours, Ronan Ryan, who owns the Town Bar and Grill, invited us up to his suite in Claridges, which allowed us to relax and unwind. It was a late one. That's the second time I've stayed in the Chelsea Harbour and I've spent about five minutes there in total. I've had the breakfast, and I hear it's a nice hotel."